The Gambler is the tale of a young tutor in the employ of a Russian general, and was written under a strict deadline so Dostoyevsky could pay off his roulette debts. As the story unfolds it reveals a psychological narrative on the destructive power of addiction. Also included in this volume is White Nights, the story of a dreamer who recalls four evenings of pure happiness, Bobok where a frustrated writer visits a graveyard and overhears the conversations of the dead, The Meek One which features a harrowing monologue in which a speaker soon realizes that he's to blame for his wife's suicide, and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man where a young gentleman plans his suicide and is saved when he has a troubling dream. Seven stories in all.
